Paterson connection feeds Pike's heroin hunger

A massive heroin bust in early June resulted in the arrest of 325 people in Paterson, New Jersey.

BETH BRELJE

A massive heroin bust in early June resulted in the arrest of 325 people in Paterson, New Jersey.

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency says Paterson supplies more pure heroin than anywhere else in the country, according to an Associated Press report.

So perhaps it is not surprising that Pike County officials have noticed local heroin use has connections to Paterson.

"These are people from inner cities. Most of the heroin is coming (to Pike) from Paterson and Newark (New Jersey), and they mean business," Pike County Sheriff Phil Bueki said.

He called the drug trade organized, very structured and very dangerous.

"We've observed, over various investigations over quite some period of time, since the late 1990s, that very often investigations lead to Paterson," Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin said.

Often addicts traveled to Paterson to obtain heroin, but something is different now.

"There appears to be a change in the drug trafficking pattern in Pike County, in that people from Paterson seem to be traveling here to traffic heroin," Tonkin said.

It means demand for the drug is strong enough to attract traffickers to Pike.

In June, Melissa Schultz of Milford and Rashawn Cooks of Paterson were arrested on charges related to heroin and cocaine trafficking from a room at the Hampton Inn in Pike County.

There police discovered 1,243 bags of heroin, about 3 grams of crack cocaine and some powder cocaine. Detectives also seized more than $4,700 in cash.

The potential street value of the drugs seized was more than $20,000, authorities said.

"This seizure was one of the largest seizures of heroin in Pike County," Tonkin said.

Also in June, convicted Paterson drug dealer Walter "Wizzy" Brown, 40, was sentenced to five years to 20 years in state prison. Brown was one of seven men arrested in an April 2013 heroin bust in Pike and Wayne counties.

"What I have observed of drug traffickers is they are greedy people willing to travel here to take advantage of people who are addicted to heroin," Tonkin said.